Logical though it probably appeared in the product strategy, that Lamborghini has chosen to make a two-wheel drive
Huracan Spyder
remains a pleasant surprise. Because, let's be honest, an LP610-4 probably fulfils all the requisite needs of a Lamborghini drop-top customer. But clearly there is demand for a rear-wheel drive car - hopefully that means a more aggressive RWD coupe is coming too - and that sounds like jolly good news to us.
Hang on, it still says LP580 here...
"It offers the lifestyle appeal of open-air motoring with the pure thrill of rear-wheel drive engineering" says CEO Stefano Domenicali, which does sound like rather an alluring combination. While mechanically identical to the
LP580-2
launched this time last year, note this car is the 'rear-wheel drive Spyder' and the not the 'LP580-2 Spyder'. Was it really that hard to understand before?
So the 5.2-litre V10 makes the same 580hp, there's the same recalibration of suspension and systems for "authentic rear-wheel drive behaviour" and even the same weight saving - down 33kg also, to 1,509kg. Dry. Yep, it's still no lightweight and lithe roadster, this Huracan. The equivalent figure for a McLaren 650S is 1,370kg. Still, Lamborghini claims 3.6 seconds to 62mph and 199mph; it's hardly sluggish.
Marking the two-wheel drive car out from the existing Huracan Spyder are tweaks to the front and rear, said to provide "a dynamic but more aggressive look". They appear pretty minor from here, but then the Huracan never really struggled for visual impact, did it?
The rest of the rear-wheel drive Spyder package is as you would find in the rest of the Huracan range, including cylinder deactivation. When it goes on sale in January, Lamborghini says its price will be in between the LP580-2 and LP610-4 coupes; call it about £170,000 then. And form an orderly queue!